Duck Side of the Moon is not going to challenge you, and it is not trying to. It is a sweet, funny, relaxed exploration game about helping rock aliens, mining space minerals, dressing up a duck, and slowly fixing a busted ship. The missing map keeps it from feeling as frictionless as it should, but everything else lands with enough charm that I still kinda loved my time with it.
I think Dead as Disco is absolutely worth playing if rhythm action games do anything for you. The highs are ridiculously high. Those boss levels are some of the coolest things you will experience in an action game this year, and the moment-to-moment combat scratches a part of my brain that very few games ever reach.
Elementallis has its rough edges, and the map system is easily the biggest one. I would love a modern optional layer with better markers, clearer objective tracking, or at least a more readable player icon. But the core adventure is strong enough that I kept pushing through the annoyance. The powers are clever, the world is fun to poke at, the temples scratch the right puzzle-solving itch, and the presentation is beautiful.
The Last Gas Station scratches that specific management sim itch where routine becomes relaxing, upgrades feel meaningful, and every improvement makes the next day more efficient. I do think it needs tuning in the latter half, maybe fewer extreme objectives, better control over customer volume, a fast-forward option, or a few more minigames. But the foundation is excellent.
All Hail the Orb is a short, absurdly satisfying incremental clicker that turns dopamine-chasing automation and duck-fueled nonsense into one of the easiest recommendations on PC right now.
Mouse P.I. For Hire has style for days, but crucially, it is not only style. It has a great detective story, an excellent central performance, sharp dialogue, fantastic-feeling controller shooting, and some of the most distinctive animation work I have seen in a modern FPS. More than anything, I just love that this game exists in finished form and turned out this good. It started as one of those “that looks cool” projects you assume might never fully come together. Instead, it absolutely did and it's a blast!
This is a bold, beautiful, and emotionally grounded game with some of the best pixel-art direction I have seen in years. If you care about world-building, strong art direction, and character-driven sci-fi stories, REPLACED is an easy recommendation.
CloverPit nails atmosphere, sound, and raw run tension, but inconsistent build satisfaction and a slow climb to real power keep it from reaching the same highs as the best run-based games.
The city and premise have real potential, but I cannot ignore how often the game fights you in the wrong ways. If you are curious, I would wait for major updates and then revisit. Samson: A Tyndalston Story is not hopeless. It is just not finished enough yet.
If you enjoy first-person psychological horror with detective-style puzzle design, there is a lot to like here. Just go in knowing this is not a combat game, and on PS5 the frame pacing can get rough. For me, the strengths still outweigh the technical problems. The Occultist feels like a game with a clear identity and a lot of confidence in what it wants to be.
Painkiller is easy to recommend with the right expectations. If you want a story-heavy shooter with deep narrative payoff, this is not that game. If you want a polished demon-grinder where movement is snappy, weapons are fun to master, and every mission gives you excuses to paint the floor red, it delivers. I had a great time with it during the campaign, even when I could see the repetition coming.
Project Songbird is not for everyone. If you want mechanically tight horror combat, this will frustrate you. If you want a story-led psychological horror game with strong performances, memorable atmosphere, and an emotionally heavy core, this is worth playing. For an indie horror built with this level of personal intent, that is a big achievement.
Devil Jam has a clear identity, one cool system with the 12-slot fret grid, and enough polish to be playable from start to finish. But it does not push the survivor formula in a meaningful way beyond that one idea. I finished my time with it feeling mildly entertained, mildly frustrated, and mostly ready to move on.
Minishoot' Adventures is not just a clever genre blend, it is a genuinely outstanding game. It understands why exploration is fun, why combat feels good, and how progression should constantly feed both. Every major system supports the others, and the result is one of the most satisfying action adventure experiences I have played in a long time. This is a masterpiece.
For me, Planet of Lana 2 lands as a good but not fully transformative sequel. It somewhat expands the best parts of the original, art direction, music, mood, and companion-driven puzzle solving, but it still leaves story impact on the table. I finished it appreciating the craft and enjoying the journey, but not feeling deeply moved by it.
Capcom has delivered another outstanding Resident Evil. Requiem is tense, stylish, mechanically sharp, emotionally grounded where it needs to be, and wildly entertaining when it decides to go loud. If you love this series, this is essential. If you never played a Resident Evil game, especially since the whole remakes started, while you will still enjoy the sh*t out of this one, you will miss a lot of nods to the history of the series. Still, this is a great reminder of why Resident Evil still owns this lane.
Sands of Aura is not a disaster, and it is not a hidden masterpiece either. I came away respecting the ambition more than the actual play experience. There is a compelling world, a decent narrative frame, and moments of real atmosphere. But the game keeps undercutting itself with inconsistent defensive timing, uneven encounter behavior, and a progression loop that does not always make you feel stronger when it should. For me, that leaves Sands of Aura as a just okay action RPG, interesting enough to remember, not polished enough to recommend broadly.
I respect Death Howl more than I enjoyed it. It has a clear creative identity, strong art direction, and a combat system that will click with players who enjoy hard, grind-forward strategy with heavy resource tension. For me, it was mostly frustration. I came in expecting a deckbuilder that would scratch a certain itch, and instead found a very demanding tactical game where RNG and attrition often drowned out the fun. I do not hate Death Howl, and I do not think it is a bad game. I think it is a very specific game that asks for a lot, very early, and gives back in ways that did not work for me.
Crisol: Theater of Idols does a lot right, a striking setting, excellent weapon fantasy, smart resource tension, strong pacing, memorable enemies, and a story that sticks the landing better than expected. Most importantly, it feels great to play. You can sense the craft in every room, every animation, every system connection. I adored this game, and I hope people do not skip it just because its inspirations are easy to spot. Crisol understands those inspirations, executes them with real care, then adds enough identity through art direction, lore, and blood economy to stand on its own. It's essential for fans of the genre. Do not miss this one.
Under The Island is the best game I have played this year so far. That is not something I say lightly. It captures the magic of classic 2D Zelda adventures, especially The Minish Cap, while adding its own quirky humor and heartfelt storytelling. The tools are inventive. The puzzles are clever. The world is full of secrets that reward curiosity. It is rare for a game to maintain that sense of joy from start to finish. There is something special here.